Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 5:1
These were the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. Though he was the firstborn, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, because Reuben defiled his father’s bed. So he is not reckoned according to birthright.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The chronicler opens a genealogical record by identifying Reuben as Israel’s eldest son and immediately clarifying why his descendants did not receive patriarchal privileges. This statement functions as a historical preface to the tribal listings that follow.
The words — `be.khor` (firstborn) denotes the legal inheritance status originally attached to Reuben’s birth. `cha.le.L` (profaned) records the specific act of violating his father’s marital bed that triggered the loss of that status.
The thread — The passage grounds its claim in Genesis 35:22 for the recorded transgression, Genesis 29:32 for Reuben’s origin, Genesis 48:15 for the subsequent blessing of Joseph’s line, and 1 Chronicles 5:2 for the parallel confirmation that the birthright ultimately belonged to Joseph.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to accept a documented historical transfer of inheritance rights based on a recorded violation of familial law. It establishes that patriarchal privilege in this narrative is contingent upon conduct, not merely birth order.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
Cross-references
- Genesis 35:22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons:
- Genesis 29:32 And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.”
- Genesis 48:15 Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,
- Genesis 49:3 Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.
- Exodus 6:14 These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans of Reuben.
- 1 Chronicles 26:10 Hosah the Merarite also had sons: Shimri the first (although he was not the firstborn, his father had appointed him as the first),
- 1 Corinthians 5:1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.
- Genesis 25:23 and He declared to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
- Genesis 46:8 Now these are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.
- Leviticus 18:8 You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; it would dishonor your father.